Jabrill Peppers, the reigning U.S. Air Force National Sophomore of the Year and a key cog in Don Bosco Prep’s (Ramsey, N.J.) run to a No. 1 ranking in the Xcellent 25, has left the school and enrolled at Paramus Catholic (Paramus, N.J.).

Paramus Catholic school officials confirmed the news to MaxPreps on Wednesday evening.

Rumors about Peppers transferring from Don Bosco Prep had been swirling for weeks, but on Wednesday, his departure became official.

“A lot of my friends go here and they have great academics, great diversity,” Peppers said. “I really wasn’t happy where I was at. It was pretty much a no-brainer for me.”

Paramus Catholic President Jim Vail said that the school has accepted over a dozen transfers since the start of the new year, and that Peppers’ situation followed proper protocol.

“His mother came in and presented his academic information,” Vail said. “He was qualified and we accepted him. He’s expressed many reasons to me why he wants to transfer that are unrelated to athletics.”

Peppers is expected to start classes at Paramus Catholic on Thursday.

Potentially the top recruit in the class of 2014, the 6-foot, 190-pound Peppers was a two-way star for the Ironmen this season. He dominated in the secondary at cornerback while also excelling at running back.

The loss of Peppers, arguably the team’s top player as a sophomore, creates a major void that Don Bosco Prep will need to fill in addition to the losses of its talented senior class.

Peppers joins a young and talented nucleus of players at Paramus Catholic that includes sophomore receiver Tyrone Washington and freshman athlete Najee Clayton.

He is the second player to transfer to Paramus Catholic from Don Bosco Prep, joining Keyon Washington, who enrolled at Paramus Catholic last week.

See the full story here.

Thomas had eight carries for 127 yards and four touchdowns and was part of a three-pronged rushing attack that included Leo Krizanovic and Chris Maldonado, who also ran for more than 100 yards. Krizanovic finished with a game-high 174 yards and chipped in two TDs, while Maldonado totaled 116 yards on 13 carries.

Sean Maguire scored on a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for Seton Hall Prep.

Paramus Catholic advances to the semifinals to meet Don Bosco Prep.

The Paladins are currently 5-3 and ranked #16 in the State by Maxpreps

http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/paramus-catholic-paladins-(paramus,nj)/football/home.htm

Led by Senior RB/LB Leo Krizanovic, Senior QB/Ath/SS Chris Maldanado, Senior WR/CB Lamont Thomas and a Bevy of young talent the Paladins look to continue thier dominance at home where they are 5-1 this year.

He rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns to go along with a game-high nine tackles as Paramus Catholic overcame some early struggles and eventually cruised into next week’s showdown with St. Joseph Regional with a 39-13 home win over Bergenfield.
“I think we definitely had some jitters early on, but we really hit our stride late in the second quarter,” said Partridge. “Once we opened it up, we really went into attack mode on both sides of the ball. The middle two quarters we looked pretty good, but we didn’t start off the game the way we would have liked and we didn’t finish well either. It’s certainly something we need to work on and we’ll need more focus and better execution next week against St. Joe’s.”

The Paladins took the lead on the first play of the second quarter when Krizanovich went off tackle to the left side and outraced the defense all the way to the pilon for a 16-yard TD. But the Bergenfield defense held on for most of the first half before a pair of PC sophomores started earning their stripes on the varsity level.

A big 15-yard completion from quarterback Steve Shanley to Tyrone Washington on third-and-nine kept a drive alive and set up a one-yard plunge from Krizanovich with just over three minutes to go in the half. Then after forcing a three-and-out, Shanley led the Paladins right back down the field, hitting Washington on a fade route with 22 seconds left to give PC a commanding 18-0 lead at the half.

“If we could have held it to a six-point lead, I think you might have seen a different second half and a much tighter game,” said Bergenfield head coach Rob Violante. “I thought our kids fought hard all game and we battled from the first play until the last one. But the bottom line is that when we had a good situation and they needed to make a play, they made it pretty consistently. We just couldn’t get those key stops when we needed them.”
Krizanovich’s third touchdown of the game was almost identical to his first as he swept around the left end to score. On PC’s next series, Washington put the game on ice with the play of the day and likely of the year so far. On a go route, Bergenfield cornerback Joe DeFuria leaped to make what looked to be an outstanding interception. However, Washington never gave up on the jumpball. He reached over the top to rip it away and then raced the rest of the way to pay dirt for a 57-yard score that made it 33-0.

Washington finished with five catches for 96 yards and two TDs for Paramus Catholic (1-0). Shanley finished with three TD tosses on the day with the final score going to Lamont Thomas. Corey White hauled a nine-yard scoring pass from Angel Dominguez and Will Rodriguez had a nifty run for a 17-yard TD for Bergenfield (1-1).

With Bergenfield now in the rear-view mirror, the Paladins can focus their attention on a shot at St. Joseph. Last year, they were only down a touchdown heading into the fourth quarter before running out of steam in a 35-7 loss. The Paladins hope this is finally their year to make a state and get back into the upper echelon of teams in Bergen County. A win next week would do just that.
“When you talk about the best teams in Bergen County, we want people to put Paramus Catholic in the conversation,” said Krizanovich, who recently got the first of what will likely be many Division 1 offers from the University of Akron in the MAC conference. “We know to get in the conversation, you have to play well and beat the best. I think when we raise our tempo, we raise our intensity and then we feel we can play with anyone. St. Joe’s will be a tough test, they always are. But we’re going to go give it everything we have, leave it all out on the field, and hopefully we will come out on top.”

By Rich Barton 
NJS.com
Staff Writer
Taken from NorthJerseySports.com

See the other top football prospects here.

Among those athletes are ten (10) outstanding football players, all of who will be competing at the next level next season on the gridiron. We look forward to following these outstanding young men in their college careers and wish them much success both on the field and off!

Marquise Wright – Defensive Line – Rutgers University
Matt Giachinta – Running Back – West Point Academy
Brendan Walsh – Offensive Line – Colgate University
Anthony Greenfield – Punter – Wagner College
Geo Santos – Linebacker – New Haven University
Bryant Klein – Quarterback – Kings College
Derick Brown – Defensive Back – Kings College
Joe Zito – Defensive Back – Kings College
Joe Lane – Offensive Line – Wilkes University
Kevin Bless – Defensive Line – Valley Forge Military Academy

Paladins coach Chris Partridge announced there were six other Paladin football players in the college pipeline. He said that Geo Santos was committed to New Haven. Kevin Bless was going to attend Valley Forge Prep.
He also said four others were narrowing down their schools of choice.
Anthony Greenfield – Wagner/Muhlenberg/Union
Joe Zito – Wagner/Kings
Bryant Klein – Norwich/Springfield/RPI
Derick Brown – Western New England or Springfield

Read Darren Cooper’s full story here

From left: Brendan Walsh, Matt Giachinta and Marquise Wright

The last available big-name football player from the North Jersey class of 2011 belongs to Rutgers.

Marquise Wright of Paramus Catholic plans to attend Rutgers University in the fall.
Paramus Catholic defensive lineman Marquise Wright of Englewood ended two weeks of suspense Tuesday night, announcing that he has picked the Scarlet Knights over Michigan State. He’ll sign a national letter of intent today, putting the finishing touches on a Rutgers recruiting class that is filled with top-shelf North Jersey talent.

“This was not easy,” said Wright, who informed Michigan State of his decision Sunday. “I kept changing my mind. I’d wake up every day, and it was a different school. This was a hard choice for me, but I’m satisfied that I made the right choice.”

Wright joins Don Bosco quarterback Gary Nova, Bosco running back Paul Canevari and St. Peter’s Prep running back Savon Huggins on the Scarlet Knights’ list of commitments.

“We’ve all played against each other, and now we get to play together,” said Wright, who plans on majoring in criminal justice. “On paper, it seems like we can make something happen.”

Wright had originally made a verbal commitment to Pittsburgh, but backed off after the school made a coaching change in December. He came back very impressed after a visit to Michigan State two weeks ago, but was also extremely pleased when Rutgers got involved two days later.

 “Don’t get me wrong,” Wright said. “Michigan State was awesome. But I’m a Jersey boy, and I wanted to be part helping Rutgers get back to what it was.”

Wright had said all along that he wanted to be as close to home as possible, and that played a major part in his final decision. He said making the call to inform Michigan State of his decision was the hardest thing he ever had to do.

 “Without a doubt, this is a good fit for him,” said Paramus Catholic coach Chris Partridge. “He’s a very, very good kid who is close to his family. He has a younger brother and a mom at home, and it’s important for him to be close by.”

The 6-4, 290-pound Wright was an All-Bergen County selection last season, stepping up as one of the most dominant defensive players in North Jersey. In 10 games, Wright had 52 tackles, including 19 for losses, 8.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

 “He’s as explosive as they come,” Partridge said. “If I see him lining up and playing as a freshman, I wouldn’t be shocked.”
Wright admitted that the last month was pretty hectic, but he believes he handled the situation well.

 “Doing this two times was not exactly the best thing,” Wright said. “I’m glad it’s over, and I’m happy with my choice.”

Check out the full story here.

BY MARK J. CZERWINSKI
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER

The program is in place for the Paladins and the future looks bright!